Tuesday, March 19

Te
Are Manu is the only vet clinic in the Cook Islands and it's now a
busy, well-equipped place.

But
it didn't start out that way.

In
July 2017 we leased a building behind the Ministry of Agriculture in
Arorangi.

Cook
Islands Investment Corporation did a great job of cleaning and
painting our new clinic.

The
back yard needed clearing of discarded rubbish.

Volunteers
and board members put together donated shelves and sanded and painted
second-hand cupboards and tables.

We
also had an operating table and trolleys to be assembled.

Early
volunteer vets and vet nurses organised the supplies that were now
coming in.

The
Te Are Manu sign on the main road showed we were getting ready for
business.

Donated
vet supplies were now arriving from clinics overseas, mainly in New
Zealand.

A
washing machine, dryer and fridge were donated by previous Rarotonga
residents now living in New Zealand.

Although
we weren't yet officially open we had our first furry patient.

Pinot
Gris came along for a check up and de-flea.

On
13 October 2017 we had our official opening ...

and
after a rousing imene tuki, board chairman Trish Barton and board
members asked Tinomana Ariki, the ariki of Puaikura, and Taamo
Heather, the landowner representative, to cut the ei.

We
were now officially up and running.

The
Aronga Mana of Puaikura nominated Te Are Manu for a Village Pride
award.

We
put our $1500 prize towards buying a van for the clinic.

The
back of the room was organised into an office space and a work space.

The
main purpose of our clinic is to look after sick animals

and
our operating theatre was well-set up for this.

Many
generous vet clinics overseas have given us equipment that's surplus
to their needs.

Our
volunteer vets and vet nurses make full use of the theatre.

Our
lovely new operating theatre was originally set up by CareVet

for
the SPCA dog de-sexing team and is now fully functional.

Dr
Sean Owens and Dr Jessica Sanchez from the University of California
at Davis have set up a diagnostic lab to help detect parasites in
animals.

Te
Are Manu doesn't work in a vacuum.

We
assisted Aitutaki Vet Trek, an American group, including two vets and
two vet nurses, travelling to Aitutaki for a cat de-sexing programme.
They've gone two years in a row, 2018 and 2019.

We
also work closely with the Cook Islands SPCA – Te Are Manu is the
vet clinical side and SPCA is the animal rescue and shelter side.

Whenever
we have enough volunteers Te Are Manu sets up a stall at the Saturday
morning market.

This
means people can meet our volunteers and learn about our services.

And
we bring along kittens and Sonny the clinic dog - always popular,
especially with children.

The
yard at the back of the clinic has always been a place for our dogs
to play and especially clinic dog Sonny who mentors young pups
spending the day with us.

In
July 2018 we started building a kennel for our recovering animals –
cats as well as dogs – to make things less stressful (and smelly)
for everybody.

The
kennel is now in use and can be accessed directly from the new
operating theatre.

We
couldn't do all this without our volunteers.

The
vets and vet nurses come from all over the world, mainly New Zealand
and Australia but we've also had people from England, Ireland, all
parts of Europe, the United States and even Singapore. It's a real
united nations.

They
are all dedicated professionals willing to donate their time and
expertise to help our furry friends here in the Cook Islands.

Saturday, February 2

Foundation

The Creative Centre was founded in 2002
as a place where people with disabilities, over the age of sixteen,
could get together and find a pathway to as much independence as
possible.

The programme included activities,
lessons about various crafts and visits to the outside community. In
the past these have included street festivals, watching the annual
float parade, exercise classes at a local gym and being part of an
environment day presentation, depending on what is going on locally.

The Centre

The centre is open for 48 weeks of the
year – it closes doors over the Christmas/New Year period.

The Creative Centre owns a couple of
large people-mover vans and every weekday morning many members are
collected and taken to the premises behind the Tupapa Public Health
building although some members are able to make their own way,
travelling by Cooks buses – all free of charge.

Activities

There are various activities during the
day with those who are able making items for sale while others might
colour in pictures or do puzzles.

In the past the members have had
painting and pottery classes but that depends on having teachers
available.

A favourite activity right now is pareu
and t-shirt making, as you can see in the video.

These items are tagged with the maker's
name and when sold a portion of the price goes to the one who wielded
the roller.

The printing screens have all been
provided by local artists.

Other crafts include making bead
jewellery such as necklaces, earrings and bracelets. The beads come
from donated items that must first be picked apart before being
reassembled. It needs good eyesight and patience.

The craft is sold either at the centre
or at the Creative Hut down at Punange Nui Market. That's open on
Saturdays and another couple of days a week and is run by volunteers.

The staff try to see that everyone gets
a small pay packet at the end of the week.

The garden

One of the members is a wizard with a
weed-eater and keeps the area tidy. He sometimes works in the
community – all part of becoming as independent as possible.

The garden beside the centre has herb
and vegetable beds and a shade-house where seeds are raised in pots
either for sale or to plant in the beds. At the moment there's a
healthy crop of basil.

The produce is used in the centre's
kitchen where lunch is cooked every day.

And some of the members help with the
cooking.

Changes

There have been some changes over the
years.

For example the centre now has more
older members. This may be because strokes or heart disease lead to
disabilities but also because of the early stages of dementia.

But regardless of age, the dedicated
staff look after everyone. They are all caring and compassionate but
also very practical.

The atmosphere at the centre is
absolutely positive. It's a happy place.

Donors

None of this would be possible without
the help of generous donors.

The Japanese government funding the
respite area is an obvious major example, as is James Talbot,
currently walking the length of New Zealand to raise money to run
this area. There is more about the Creative Trail walk on the previous blog post.

But many local businesses and
individuals give support like Cooks Buses mentioned above, retail
stores with discounts and the women's housie groups that often donate
up to $5000 a year.

Visitors welcome

People are welcome to visit the centre
and in particular tourists can come along and make their own pareus
or T-shirts.